Progression, progression, progression...you've heard it before, but it's true.
October 22, 2009, 4:01 PM
By: Josh Brooks
DC
Danny Way's wonderfully cluttered 20 years as a pro.
On one level, a whole contingent of people see Danny Way and can't think further back than the last few years, from his bombdrop into the Super Ramp all the way up to his recent X Games win. And, understandably so...since the helicopter stunt, he invented the Mega Ramp, systematically destroyed the thing for the past few years, bombdropped from the Hard Rock guitar, broke the landspeed record on a skateboard (visually unspectacular, maybe, but still cool), jumped the Great Wall of China and murdered mainstream contests.
The people who only remember these things, most likely, know him on a mainstream level. But, he's been innovating for the last few years. In a conversation I had with Lance Mountain at the Rumble in Ramona, we discussed progression and he said, and I'm paraphrasing, you always remember the people who did it first. People may come afterward and do the same thing, but you'll only remember the person who did it first.
Danny is one of those people, no matter how much his link with progression is bashed over your head. On that mainstream level, Way's progression has been pretty clear. But, it goes back even further, about ten years before people started noticing him on the Super and Mega Ramps. He innovated street and vert tricks and brought tech skating to a new level, with speed and gnarliness. So, it's cool to see a retrospective tribute site to his twenty years as a pro being accompanied by all of his video parts. Check out DW 20.
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Contributors
Josh Brooks
Josh is a skater and a scientist. He's written for Thrasher, lurks in Long Beach, has a mean tré bomb and isn't afraid to call your favorite pro to get perspective on the latest news.
Adam Salo
Adam is one of the biggest skate nerds you'll ever encounter. It can be a little frightening. He also really likes pushing fast in traffic and wallrides.
Mike Sinclair
Mike Sinclair is a man of many talents and skills. He's particularly good as a Skater, Dog Owner, Team Manager, Eater, Baller, Comedian, Writer and Friend.
Chris Nieratko
Chris owns three skate shops (NJSkateshop.com), writes for numerous skate magazines, has a column for Vice and is pretty great at making things funny, or awkward, or both.
Noah Johnson
Noah lives, writes and skateboards everyday in Brooklyn, New York. His favorite things are clean grip, extra crispy bacon and sweatshirt weather.
